7 Habits Of Highly Creative Leaders

Linda Naiman, CreativityatWork.com
THE 7 HABITS OF
HIGHLY CREATIVE
LEADERS
Presented by Linda Naiman 
Founder of Creativity at Work
Smart Savvy LeaderLounge 
June 29, 2016

Defining Creativity
Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas
into reality. Creativity involves two processes: thinking,
then producing. If you have ideas but don’t act on them,
you are imaginative but not creative.

Linda Naiman, CreativityatWork.com© Linda Naiman | Creativity at Work.com
Creativity is a practice 
We learn to be creative
by experimenting,
exploring, questioning
assumptions, using
imagination and
synthesizing
information.
Source: T.M. Amabile,

Harvard Business Review Oct. 98
Creativity
Motivation
Creative-
thinking  
Skills

Imagination
Expertise
Knowledge:

Technical, 
procedural & 
intellectual
Intrinsic / Extrinsic

The role of the Director
is to create a space
where the actors and
actresses can become
more than they’ve ever
been before, more than
they’ve dreamed of
being.
 
—Robert Altman, Oscar acceptance
speech 
Cultivating Creativity at Work

“My job as a manager is to
create a fertile environment,
keep it healthy, and watch for
the things that undermine it.”
“Candor is the secret weapon
to great results.”

—Ed Catmull president of Pixar
Animation Studios and Walt
Disney Animation Studios.

Cultivating Creativity at Work

“My role has been
to pick good
people, and give
them the maximum
authority and
responsibility.”  
—Sam Walton

“Great leaders of innovation are not visionaries who set
direction and inspire others to follow. Instead, they create
the context in which others are both willing and able to
innovate. As one leader said, “My job is to set the stage,
not to perform on it.”

—Linda A Hill, author, professor at Harvard Business
School

Linda Naiman, CreativityatWork.comLinda Naiman CreativityatWork.com
Yes, and….  
Listen for Brilliance
Tell me more..
Yes, what if..

What I like about this is...

Let’s play with this…

Let’s explore this some more

What else?

Idea Busters:
Yes, but...
Are you serious?
We’ve never done it  
that way
It’s not in the budget
It’ll never work
Setting the stage

The ability to come up with new
ideas is a deﬁning characteristic of
creative and innovative leaders.
You could be as innovative and
impactful as the most creative
people in business – if you change
your behavior and develop these 7
habits....

5 Discovery Skills of Disruptive
Innovators
Innovator’s DNA

1. Associating
2. Questioning
3. Observing
4. Experimenting
5. Networking
“Entrepreneurs (who are also CEOs) spend 50% more
time on these discovery activities than do CEOs with
no track record for innovation.” 
— Innovator’s DNA by Clayton M. Christensen et al.

A disruptive innovation is an
innovation that helps create
a new market and value
network, and eventually
goes on to disrupt an
existing market and value
network, displacing an
earlier technology.

“Creativity is just connecting
things.”

—Steve Jobs
Habit #1: Associating — the #1 skill
that separates innovators from non-
creatives

Practice your ABCDs: Always Be Connecting Dots.

Habit #2: Questioning

"You don't invent the
answers, you reveal the
answers by ﬁnding the
right questions.“

- Jonas Salk

Master the art of

What is?
Why?
What if?
What else?
What wows?
What works?
Why not?
photographs by Michael Maggs

Habit #3: Observing
“All our
knowledge has
its origin in our
perceptions.”

— Leonardo
da Vinci

Visual Literacy through Art History Ed: Yale, NYPD

“Observation is the big game
changer in our company.”
— Scott Cook, founder, Intuit
Two key observations:
• Wife’s frustration on keeping track of
their ﬁnances
• Sneak peek at Apple Lisa

Visual Thinking: The Power of Art ignites imagination
and creativity-crucial components of innovation.
Art puts us in touch with our humanity, and giving
people the freedom to express their inner artist at
work helps them tap into meaning, purpose,
energy and enthusiasm.

106,000 aluminum cans
used in the U.S. every
thirty seconds.
Running the Numbers: An
American Self-Portrait by
photographic artist Chris
Jordan.

32,000 Barbies = The
number of elective
breast augmentations
performed monthly in
2006.
Chris Jorden

9 Faces

Habit #4: Experimenting
Three ways that innovators experiment:
1. Try out new experiences
2. Take apart products, processes, and
Ideas
3. Test ideas through pilots and
prototypes
“Think big, act small, fail fast; learn rapidly.” —Agile Mantra

“Effective prototyping may
be the most valuable core
competence an innovative
organization can have.”
Think about It. Innovation =
Reaction to the Prototype
—Michael Schrage, MIT
Prototype

Give permission to try
something new
“You have permission to try
something new…don’t wait
for the invitation. There are a
lot of opportunities to grab. If
you see a better way, you
have an obligation to do it.”

—Beth Comstock, vice chair
of General Electric

Listen for Brilliance in others
“Force people to
LISTEN to each
other.”
—Miles Davis

Habit # 5: Networking
Discovery driven executives network to:
• Learn new, surprising things
• Gain new perspectives
• Test Ideas “in process”
• Target experts and non-experts with very different
backgrounds and perspectives

Habit #6: Frame opportunity areas
Start with the phrase “HOW MIGHT WE...?”

Getting the right
framing is the
only way to
create the right
solution.

Reframing the role of manager
My job was not to have the
answer, but to give my
team whatever they
needed to create the
answer. It was a shift from
the way management is
generally thought of, where
as a senior manager you
must have the answer.
—Claudia Kotchka:  
(Former) Chief Barrier
Buster at P&G
“Creativity is about
how you set your
team up for success.”

Habit #7:
What is the best way to
motivate employees to do
creative work?

1. Psychological safety: Can we take risks on this team without
feeling insecure or embarrassed?
2. Dependability: Can we count on each other to do high quality
work on time?
3. Structure & clarity: Are goals, roles, and execution plans on
our team clear?
4. Meaning of work: Are we working on something that is
personally important for each of us?
5. Impact of work: Do we fundamentally believe that the work
we’re doing matters?
Source: Google re:Work
https://rework.withgoogle.com/blog/five-keys-to-a-successful-google-team/
(Retrieved Jan12, 2016)
5 questions to ask your team:

"A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when
his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it
ourselves." —Lao Tzu

How would
you summarize
the 7 habits?
What will  
you put  
into practice?

Let’s connect!
CreativityatWork.com

Consulting | Training | Coaching

LN@CreativityatWork.com

Tel: +1 604-327-1565

@LindaNaiman

7 Habits Of Highly Creative Leaders

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